Pooooop!

Saturday, April 2, 2011

That title is dedicated to... Ok, I won't just blurt out your name(s) right out here on the blog. But you know who you are!

So, you're probably wondering why in the world THAT is the title of this post!

Here's why... Remember the Wego Health 30 Day Blogging Challenge?? Today is Day 2 and the prompt for today is to go to the dictionary and choose the word of the day - or any word that you open it to - and write a post about how it relates to your health condition.

Well, I went to the Urban Dictionary because that sounded like fun. And the word for today is.....

POOFORMANCE ANXIETY

Defined as "Anxiety concerning the act of defecation, most often related to pooping in public restrooms".

Nice.

How in the world can I relate THAT to Type 1 D? Ohhhh.... you just watch me!

Sweetpea suffered from pooformance anxiety after being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of three. We had been working on the potty training and thought she was pretty much "trained". Then D entered our lives and her independence with toileting swirled down the ... well, the toilet. She would NOT go.

Seriously. I've thought about writing about this before. Because I KNOW other people have experienced this, too. But at the time, I felt so alone. I didn't know what to do. And we were so overwhelmed with D care that potty issues took the back seat.

Sweets was pretty much trained before her 3rd birthday. She was doing really well at school (daycare). She was doing well at home. Not 100% - but well.

Then, she turned 3. We didn't know it then but D was already there. You can see it in her little dehydrated and skinny frame.

Skin and bones... sunken in eyes... Sorry, Mom. I know you hate seeing these pics...

She moved up to the preschool room at school. And she started having accidents. The teachers in this room were not as helpful as the other teachers in the other room. They expected her to be trained. Even during naps. But she was drinking more... A LOT more...

There were other issues with this class that I won't go into now. Sweets was always so happy to be there but she started crying and having fits when I left her. I thought it was due to the other issues going on. But now I think it was mostly because she was sick. And tired.

It was then that we noticed the SOAKED diapers and night that we'd never seen before - ever. The constant thirst... On the plane ride home from Spring Break, she soaked thru her diaper AND her pants. It was only an hour flight. She was SO incredibly wet that she had to leave the plane with her blanket tied around her waist and Daddy had to go dry her pants in the bathroom with the hand dryer.

Sweetpea and my Dad - THOSE are the pants. I'll never forget them. I sold them last summer at our JDRF Garage Sale fundraiser and I remember silently wishing them well and hoping the new owner never experienced what WE did with those pants...

After dx, well... who could blame her? Trying to work on always going to the potty was the LAST thing on her mind.

I didn't know what to do. We tried to work on it. But I was overwhelmed. And so was she...

And so, we just let it go. We tried a little. We reminded her. But we put her back in pull ups. Just what you are NOT supposed to do. But all those little tip sheets never mentioned what to do if in the middle of potty training your child was diagnosed with diabetes - a disease that caused them to need to go A LOT - and a disease that brought with it tears and crying and begging and holding said child down while you gave her insulin injections 6 times a day.

Neither one of us could do it then. We were making no progress... So we decided to take a break.

And after letting the D routine get a little more "normal"... We REALLY tried again.

And it worked.

It took about another year.

And she is STILL wearing a pull up at night. I think we're getting close there... but she just does not wake up at night. And honestly, I'm not ready to push her because I'm not ready to have to get up more during the night if she has an accident. Maybe this summer....

But the rest just fell into place when the time was right.And immediately following dx was just NOT the right time.

I've asked around and heard stories from others about cwd's that they know who also really struggled with "pooformance anxiety"- or really just potty problems in general.So, I have a feeling that it's just something else that might be a little more difficult for our kids.

However, I just tell myself that she isn't going to be 16 and still wearing pull ups - and I've got enough other stuff to worry about now - that just letting it go is best.

It worked for us!Pooformance anxiety is a thing if the past!!Unless you wanna talk constipation which is another little nugget of wonderful that came along with D.

But, I think I've had enough poo talk for one post!I mean, I don't want you to think my attempt at HAWMC Day 2 really stunk!I'd hate it if you told your friends not to read because this was a really crappy post!

Liv is still in pull-ups at night too. We had to go back to pull-ups at night after dx (she had been completely day and night for almost a year!)You're right though, they won't be 16 and still wearing a pull-up to bed :)

Oh, how I can SO relate to your post for today! Charlotte was dx'd at just over 2 years old. During the monthly leading up to and right after dx we potty-trained on 3 occasions...got messed up twice due to Hurricane Katrina and then D :( C wore Pull-Ups overnight until she was about 5 (she has always been a heavy sleeper).Our ped still talks about Charlotte's Pull-Up the day we went in and were dx...literally dripping urine :(

This was us too! My sweet K was about 90% potty trained and never ever had night time potty accidents....until D came along. She was DX just weeks after her 2nd birthday and has been in pull ups ever since. Did I mention we are also expecting #3?!? No way am I ready to push the issue with her with another baby on way and dealing with D. It'll happen, but now is not the time for us either.

Your dx story sounds the same in the potty-training dept. Joe was trained at 3...then slipped big-time...HEAVY, HEAVY diapers and his bed would be saturated all the way up to his neck and down to his toes.

We still struggle with our nights and wetting. We are working on it though.

I'm new to the T1 scene, my 7yo daughter was diagnosed about 6 weeks ago.

I've been lurking around your blog for several days. Thanks for sharing your story and for being an advocate for all of us and our little ones.

Our daughter was old enough she didn't have potty training issues, but one of the reasons we missed her symptoms for so long was because she was getting up in the night several times, going to the restroom, and not waking us or telling us.

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* Disclaimer *

I am not a doctor. I just play one in real life!

I am happy to share with you what works (and what does not) for us as we do battle with Diabetes. However, keep in mind that this is just my opinion and should, in no way, be taken as professional medical advice.

Please contact your doctor or endocrinology team before changing your current treatment.